Fervour
by Lexie-Rae
Summary: Unlike all of the other girls, she was smart and funny, she had sharp wit and intellect. The fact that she’d landed herself in detention on the first day was the icing on the cake." NP set pre-pilot.


It was the first day of sophomore year that he noticed her, really noticed her that is.

Throughout his freshman year he'd been obsessed by basketball and earning his crown of Mr. Popular. Besides going to class, he barely spent any time amongst his fellow freshmen, and going to class wasn't exactly something he did everyday. The first time he really recognised her as a face out of the crowd was on that first day of sophomore year when they both ended up in detention.

She sauntered into the room and handed her detention slip to the bored looking teacher who was reading the paper at his desk.

He nodded, 'Take a seat.'

The girl sighed and walked to the back of the room, sitting in the furthest corner from the door.

Nathan turned to face her but she only scowled in return. He was racking his brain for her name but it escaped him at that moment. They took algebra together, although his hate of the subject meant that he didn't spend much time in her company. He knew that she was a cheerleader; he could picture her on the sidelines in a very short skirt, it was a little odd that they'd never spoken considering.

She looked amazing, and without trying too hard like most girls did, he liked that. Today she was wearing a long grey vest that appeared to be a few sizes too big, which allowed Nathan a few peeks at her bra if she bent down or stretched. The vest was quite long which meant that it almost reached the hem of her very short denim skirt.

She was lounging in her seat, stretching her legs out. Legs that seemed to go on forever, Nathan could barely keep his eyes off of them.

Currently she was focussing all of her attention on the paper in front of her which he assumed she was using for doodling. She tutted, and reached for her bag. As she leaned towards the floor Nathan caught another glimpse of her bra, causing him to grin. Her blonde curls fell forwards in the line of her bright green eyes.

Suddenly they snapped up and met Nathan's cool blue orbs. She glared at him, forcing him to turn back to the book he was supposed to be reading for English lit.

When he mustered the courage to glance her way again he saw that she was once again engrossed in her work. He could faintly hear the dull beats ebbing from her headphones that must have been at a deafening volume.

He turned to his notepad and ripped a piece of paper from it.

'_What's your crime? Distracting boys with your hot body?' _he scrawled before flicking the note, with very accurate precision so that it landed on her desk.

Her eyes flicked towards the note and then at him before she sighed and continued her doodle.

Nathan frowned, put out, okay so maybe he wasn't her type but this was detention, there was no need for her to be so rude. He drew out a long breath and returned to the novel in front of him.

Struggling to take in the words whilst his mind was wandering, Nathan ended up reading the same page three times until he was interrupted by something clipping his ear. He scooped the folded paper from the floor and unfolded it.

'_Mind your step when you leave, there's a puddle of drawl forming at your feet.' _Her curly letters read.

He smirked even though she'd insulted him. She was feisty and that made him want her more.

'_You think highly of yourself.' _He smirked.

About thirty seconds later he received a reply, she managed once again to hit his ear on her throw.

'_Says the boy who came on for an _uncalled_ encore after the Bear Creek game.' _She retaliated.

'_I didn't know you were such a fan, thanks for reminding me, personally, I'd forgotten what game that was at.'_

He swivelled in his seat to see her reaction. He grinned when he saw her jaw set.

'_Does it ever hurt? You know, when you enter rooms?'_

He didn't understand, when he glanced back her eyes were sparkling and he knew she was laughing at him. She tossed a scrap of paper his way.

'_Your head must struggle to fit through the door frames.'_

He shook his head and put his pen to paper, _'I asked them to widen them, and of course they agreed; I'm like an idol for some people.'_

She rolled her eyes, but this time Nathan noticed a ghost of a smile on her lips.

'_Be sure to thank them nicely next time, I'm pretty sure they're going to have to widen them again soon, I can almost see your head ballooning in front of me.'_

He smirked, enjoying the banter he was sharing with this mysterious girl. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't completely stupid and could maintain a witty conversation well. Usually he'd talk basketball with the guys or listen to girls compliment him, very rarely would he speak to anyone about anything else.

Everyone thinks that humour runs through the popular crowd like alcohol flows through their bodies, but in reality the laughs are all for show. Sure, they'll always be some poor kid in the cafeteria that the whole group will laugh at for having quirky looks, but it's not the same. When you think back to a kid in thick glasses it's just not as funny as you first thought it was. Nathan knew that when he looked back at this conversation he'd still smile at the scenario they'd invented.

'_Enough about me and my handsome good looks, tell me something about you.' _

Nathan passed the note back, genuinely looking forward to the reply; the girl had a blanket of mystery surrounding her, making her irresistible to him. Through his freshman year, Nathan had experienced the wonders of sex with pretty girls, which had quickly turned to the monotony of sex with pretty girls. He hadn't grown tired of the beautiful female form, and he doubted he ever would, but he'd become weary of the same routine. Cheerleaders, models and dancers, he'd had relations with them all; it was the done thing as he was the hottest guy in the school. Those girls had no depth though; they all wanted the same thing, lots of compliments and lots of sex. They didn't want Nathan; they wanted the star player of the Ravens. To girls he wasn't a boy of substance, he was a name on the team's score sheet, and it just happened that his name was top of the list.

The blonde beauty behind him was different, when she looked at him she stared him straight in the eyes, instead of checking out his body. She didn't giggle or fluster, she was calm and cool, enigmatic and secretive. Unlike all of the other girls, she was smart and funny, she had sharp wit and intellect. The fact that she'd landed herself in detention on the first day was the icing on the cake. He wasn't sure exactly what she'd done to be sent here but that didn't matter anymore, it left the reasoning to his imagination. He hoped that it was something that showed her as fiery and intense, maybe it was a catfight, or maybe she'd been acting in an inappropriately sexy manner in class. Maybe it was both, he smiled to himself.

A scrap of green paper landed neatly on the corner of Nathan's desk. He had to stop from launching himself at it, desperate to learn something about the girl sending his mind into a whirlwind.

'_I guess I must be the brain, the princess, the criminal and the basket case.'_

He smiled and shook his head, the mystery girl had not disappointed him, and she had only grown more interesting in his eyes.

'_The Breakfast Club. I see that I'm the athlete, I think you're being a little greedy though, hogging all of the personas.'_

This time she replied quickly, as another shred of green paper sailed over to him just seconds later.

'_You're right; I think that Princess suits you more anyway.'_

He tried to look hurt by the comment but couldn't stop the smile that crept up across his lips, just as he couldn't argue what she'd stated.

Glancing down Nathan sighed; he'd promised himself that he would finish his long overdue reading whilst stuck in the prison of detention. But detention hadn't been the nightmare that he'd expected it to be, he'd suffered enough hours of detainment to come to expect boredom. This time had been different though, and it was all because of the beautiful girl sitting behind him.

Making a deal, he vowed to spend five minutes on Romeo and Juliet before sending a reply. He hoped that this would not only help his education, but drive the girl mad, waiting for a reply. Girls were always harping on about 'treat them mean, keep them keen' so Nathan decided to explore the theory.

He found a clean page on his notebook and found the quote that he was supposed to be transcribing into modern day language.

'_As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven  
Would through the airy region stream so bright  
That birds would sing and think it were not night.'_

Nathan wasn't as brainless as everyone imagined him to be so it was clear to him what the quote meant. Her eyes would sparkle so brightly that the birds would confuse the shining for daylight itself.

Nathan groaned, how was it that literature was suddenly interesting and eye-opening?

All that he could think of was her, even Shakespeare was reminding him of her magnificence.

Throwing down his pen, he decided to admit defeat, knowing that his mind just wasn't on his school work. He stretched back in his seat and looked to his right. Sure enough just as Shakespeare had proposed centuries earlier, her dazzling green orbs were lighting up the room. Their eyes met for a second before she glanced down, the whisper of a smile etched on her face.

'_You know that the Athlete and the Basket Case get it on at the end, as do the Princess and the Criminal.'_

He launched the note in her direction and sent her a smirk. He watched her read the words and fix her jaw in that determined manner of hers. She scribbled something down and passed it over to him.

'_Maybe I'm more like the Brains.'_

Nathan chuckled, she was playing hard to get. He decided to be up front and honest for once in his life.

'_You may just be the prettiest girl I've ever seen, let me take you out.'_

This time he couldn't watch as she read his message. His heart was beating rapidly and he couldn't help from jiggling his knee. His palms were clammy and he felt as though he had a hundred eyes watching him.

As a piece of green paper sailed across his line of vision and he swore his heart stopped for a moment. Slowly he unfolded the note, and when he did his heart plummeted.

'_Do you use that on all your girls? I'm not looking to be messed around by a big shot, player, thank you.'_

It seemed even crueller to Nathan that her scrawl was so beautiful and poetic; he could barely believe such lettering could deliver such bad news.

'_I've never used that on any other girl, I've never asked a girl out. You're the first, and I was hoping to have a 100% success rate. You're the first girl I've asked out for a reason.'_

He sighed largely, and passed the note back, offering with it his saddest puppy dog face.

'_Just tell me one thing.'_

Nathan arched his brow and waited impatiently as she wrote another note, undoubtedly with a burning question. He wondered what she wanted to know. His stomach lurched thinking that it was probably going to relate to his previous relations. Maybe she would ask what his number was. His first thought at this was simply to lie, but he immediately pushed that idea to the back of his mind. He strangely wanted to be honest with her. He watched as she folded the paper and sent it across the aisle along with a kiss.

He smirked and opened the note eagerly.

'_What is my name?'_

He felt himself blush from head to toe. She had got him in a corner, exactly where she wanted him. He sighed heavily but decided that he wasn't going to let her get the better of him. He may not have known her name but he was Nathan Scott and he didn't give up easily.

He grabbed his Shakespeare book and scoured it for the quote that his English teacher had spent an hour droning on about it. He hoped that it would come across the right way and not show just how totally stupid he really was.

' "_What's in a name? that which we call a rose  
__By any other name would smell as sweet"  
__I don't notice names, they do not do for me what your sweet smile does and your endless legs do. There are thousands who share names, that doesn't make you stand out from the crowd. But out of the thousands I could pick you out by seeing just your silhouette, the curve of your lips, or by hearing the rhythm that you tap your feet to as you draw. Your beauty precedes you.'_

He sent the note and waited with baited breath. Nathan had never needed to use lines on a girl before, most came running to him. If all else failed he just took his top off it worked every time. He had a feeling that this girl would be different though, cheap tricks probably wouldn't win her over.

The reply was quick and Nathan barely dared to open it.

'_I'll take that as a No then; you don't know my name.'_

Nathan set his jaw, angry with himself for not paying enough attention to the gorgeous girl who remained nameless in his mind.

'_No, I don't know your name. I'm sorry. Can't you give a guy a break though? Surely a guy wanting to know your name is more important than him knowing it and ignoring you? I want to get to know you, am I such a bad person for wanting that? You probably think you know me but you don't; why not give us a chance?  
__I want to get to know you.'_

He chucked the paper in her direction and gave her a look that said 'Game On.'

He had never known detention to be so fun nor so nerving. In the oddest way, he was really enjoying it. The girl was making his feelings jump all over the place and he was determined in his mind not to let her get away.

'_We don't fit together.'_

She replied bluntly, crushing his hopes in a moment. She was feisty and seemingly just as stubborn as he was.

'_You seem awfully confident about that. See, we're not so different.'_

She narrowed her eyes at his point and Nathan swore he heard her mutter something under her breath. He watched her as she flicked through her notebook for another piece of paper in a rapid motion. She was so distracted by her own frantic searching to notice when a piece slipped to the floor. After ensuring that that the teacher wasn't looking, Nathan leant down and scooped the page up. The girl hadn't noticed his movement either which he was thankful for because he was sure she'd bite his head off.

He'd expected a page of angry doodles or maybe a loose scrap of homework. He had not been bargaining on the masterpiece in his hands. It was a sketch and evidently her own work. It clearly depicted Nathan, he was executing a dunk and she'd even including his smug satisfied grin. He was impressed. She'd used a black pen to sketch and it had a good effect; the lines were harder and edgier, it gave a certain feeling to the picture like his grit and determination was laid bare. She made him muscular and athletic which he saw as a personal compliment coming from her. It was primarily a black and white picture save for the parts highlighted in blue. Skilfully she'd used an ordinary biro to pick out the exact tone of his eye colour and of the Raven's logo. The icy blue orbs she'd created seemed to leap from the page, perfectly showing Nathan's proud gaze.

There was no writing on the page, just two letters; PS. PS what? Nathan wondered.

A scrap of paper sailed across his line of vision and his attention was momentarily diverted from the artwork.

'_How would you know that we're alike, you have no idea who I am.'_

Her sharp remark didn't surprise him, she wasn't butter after all.

'_I just get the feeling that we're both passionate and determined people. We put up a front so that no one sees who we really are. I want to know who you really are.'_

He passed the paper along feeling absolutely no nerves. Looking at her art he got the sense that she didn't completely hate him.

'_What's behind your front then?'_

Her reply was quick which he took to be a good sign.

'_Come out with me and I'll show you.'_

He wasn't going to tell her everything, not when she could still easily shoot him down. He wasn't stupid. She could discover his flaws in time, if she decided to take him up on his offer.

'_You've never spoken a word to me. Why should I go out with you?'_

It was a fair question he supposed. To look at them, they didn't really make an obvious couple.

'_You should come out with me because I want to get to know you. You're beautiful, absolutely stunning. Who wouldn't want to go out with you? You talk to me like I'm not just a dumb ball player, no one else does that. You're funny, smart and pretty. Don't blame me for wanting to spend time with you.'_

Never had Nathan laid down his feelings to another person before. There was something enchanting about her that made him feel as though he could tell her.

As she read, he noticed her wrap a curl around a finger in what Nathan considered to be some subconscious flirting. He hoped that by shamelessly telling her how great she was, she would give in to his pleas and let him in. His stomach knotted as she took her pen in hand and went to make or break him. He couldn't watch.

'Excuse me.' It was the first time that anyone had spoken in a really long time, and reminded Nathan that he wasn't alone with the girl. The teacher rose from his desk and approached them, his hand held out, 'I'll take that, Miss Sawyer.'

She blushed, probably more at getting caught than for whatever she'd written.

Nathan put his head in his hands, why did the oblivious teacher choose that moment to intervene? Just when he was about to discover his fate, it'd been cruelly snapped away. He had learnt her name finally though. He had a feeling that her first name was something out of the ordinary but for the life of him he couldn't think of it. It was an awful time fro selective amnesia to strike. He kind of liked just Sawyer on her though. It suited her; mysterious and bold; tough yet airy; masculine but at the same time sweet. Sawyer; he wrapped it around her mind and it made a nice sound.

The teacher sighed and looked at his watch, 'What the hell, get out of here you two. I don't want to see you here tomorrow either.'

They both jumped from their seats as though if they didn't run the offer would be withdrawn. It was surprising that she was out of the door before him, he had to run to catch up with her.

'Hey, Sawyer!' He called down the corridor.

She turned and gave him a scathing look, 'My name's Peyton.'

Peyton Sawyer. It clicked when she said it but he supposed that she wouldn't care. 'I like Sawyer; it suits you.'

She wrinkled her nose, unsure whether to be insulted or not. 'I can think of a few words that suit you but I'll refrain.'

He smirked, 'Thanks, I guess. So what did that note say?'

'Detention's over and so is this weird us talking thing. Go back to being Mr Hotshot, and I'll go back to being nameless; everybody's happy.' She said scathingly, strolling to her locker.

'I meant what I said; I want to take you out.' Nathan said sincerely.

Her stare bored into him, 'Can't you just take no for an answer?'

'Giving up isn't in my vocabulary.' He said with a twinkle of promise in his eye.

---

'Oh my God!'

Peyton turned rolling her eyes, her best friend Brooke was squealing and grinning from ear to ear.

'Nathan Scott totally just checked me out!' Brooke clapped her hands together excitedly.

That caught Peyton's attention. She and Brooke were stood on the sidelines with the rest of the cheerleaders as the team warmed up ready for the game. Peyton stole a glance at the boys and saw that Nathan's eyes were settled in the general direction of the cheerleaders, but she supposed that it was nothing new.

'Do you think he's gonna ask me to his party?' Brooke asked, her eyes sparkling, 'He's never dated anyone from our class before, imagine if we start dating!'

'Don't get ahead of your self, Brooke.' Peyton advised, 'Besides, he's such a player.'

Brooke shrugged one shoulder and smoothed down her hair, 'He's not _a_ player, he's _the_ player! This will put me on the map.'

'You are so shallow!' Peyton said in disgust, scooping her pompoms from the floor.

'Oh please,' Brooke said dramatically, 'Maybe you're jealous?'

Peyton snorted, but didn't argue.

'All sweaty and warm, triumphant from winning; how hot would locker room sex be?' Brooke wondered, 'The boy must know what he's doing, I've seen some of the girls he's been with.'

'Locker room sex is not hot, Brooke.' Peyton said plainly.

The brunette was clearly distracted, she bit down on her lip and followed Nathan's every move around the floor. 'I definitely like what I see.'

The game began before Peyton could reply which suited her just fine, she was mad at herself for feeling pangs of jealousy as though she owned Nathan or something. Brooke of course could date whoever she wanted, she had no hold over Nathan; she had kicked him back.

Eight minutes into play and Nathan Scott was on fire. He was bounding up the court menacingly, not looking to share the ball with anyone, he had his eyes on the basket and was determined to earn the points himself. Whitey was screaming at him to pass the ball but Nathan was ignoring him, intent on landing a dunk. He burst forwards and just for a second took his eyes from the game to settle on Peyton, offering her a wink. He then soared up and planted the ball with a roar. Peyton couldn't help but notice the smug pride etched on his face much it was almost identical to the drawing she sketched.

'Wow.' Brooke gasped beside her.

Nathan landed with a thud on the hardwood floor, directly in front of the two girls.

'Peyton Sawyer,' He made a point of showing that he knew her name; 'Let me take you out.'

'Scott, get over here!' Whitey demanded turning red.

Nathan jogged towards his coach, 'I'll wait for you outside the locker room!'

Brooke put her hand to her chest, 'P Sawyer! He is the hottest guy in school! If you weren't my best friend I would hate you right now!'

'I didn't even agree!' Peyton raged.

'No way, honey, you are not letting this opportunity slide; listen to your friend Brooke, she is very wise.' The brunette poked her tongue out, 'Besides you can totally get me an invite to his party.'

'I'm not going to his party.' Peyton said fiercely, 'I'm not just going to do whatever he wants.'

'Peyton you are killing me!' Brooke groaned.

---

Peyton took longer than usual to gather her things and change after practise; there were two reasons for this. First, she was hoping that Nathan would get the hint and leave; and second, Brooke was insisting on giving Peyton an impromptu makeover.

When she was finally happy Brooke pushed Peyton out the door and hissed the helpful advice of _'don't screw this up!'_.

Peyton stumbled forwards, Brooke had forced her into some monochrome ballet pumps and confiscated her converse trainers; needless to say Peyton was not impressed.

'You look amazing.' Nathan complimented. He was leant up against the wall, he stank of cool.

'Listen, I know you've waited a really long time for me and thanks, that's nice, maybe a bit desperate, but nice.' She began.

'You know how to make a guy feel appreciated.' He laughed.

'I don't want to go to your party.' She said bluntly.

He raised his eyebrows, 'Okay, I'll call it off, what do you want to do instead?'

It was as though she'd asked him to hold her bag or something; the simplest of tasks, not cancel the social event of the calendar. Her mouth formed a tiny 'o' shape and her eyes glistened.

'You can't cancel your party.' She seemed almost outraged, 'Everyone's talking about it! You'll be the disappointment of the school.'

He shrugged, 'Well, I want to spend time with you more so they'll have to deal with it. They'll still love me anyway; I'm the best player on the team. So, what do you want to do?'

She had planned on letting him down and running for the hills. She hadn't expected the prospect of spending the night with him. It was a relief when Brooke slipped out of the locker room, obviously looking to walk into something private. She looked disappointed to see that they weren't kissing or feeling each other up.

'Can I catch a ride with you guys?' She asked sweetly.

'The party's off.' Nathan announced, 'It would be great if you could tell everyone.'

'What? I bought new shoes and everything!' Brooke pouted, hands on hips.

He frowned, 'Okay. Well it's still off. Me and Peyton are doing something.'

Brooke's eyes lit up, 'Oh, what?'

'Peyton's choice, it's her night.' Nathan told her, moving closer to the blonde in the process.

'Could be depressing.' Brooke muttered under her breath, 'Well have fun, and buy her ice-cream, she loves ice-cream!'

He nodded in thanks, 'There's a great place near the beach house.'

Brooke offered a wave and looked as though she was desperate to scream with delight whilst Peyton was shooting her friend daggers. Nathan wrapped his arm around Peyton's waist and guided her towards the door and his brand new truck.

---

The ride to the beach was filled mostly by Nathan's chatter. He complimented Peyton a lot and added the odd remark on the game but not in a conceited manner. Rather reluctantly Peyton began to feel her icy demeanour begin to melt away the more time she spent with him.

'I didn't think I was going to make that dunk you know, then I glanced at you and you were staring right at me. I told myself that if I made the shot, you'd give me a chance, and lucky me I was right.' He grinned boyishly at his good fortune.

'You didn't have to cancel your plans, you should be celebrating.' Peyton said in a small voice. She wasn't sure what Nathan was expecting of her, she was far from his normal type.

'I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't wanted to. I thought you'd know that by now, I want to spend time with you, Sawyer.' He said with heavy sincerity.

Peyton mulled over what he said as they pulled into the driveway of Dan Scott's beach house.

'I thought we could walk to the ice-cream place from here, it's on the promenade so it's open late in the summer.' He explained, 'I'll just pop in and change my shoes.'

She nodded and followed him through the door. He dashed off to grab more appropriate beach wear than his sneakers, leaving her in the generous sun room. The place was like a shrine to Nathan; there were medals, awards and photographs everywhere. It seemed that basketball wasn't just a hobby; it was a lifestyle. Her eyes fell on a card that stood in the display cabinet, from where she stood she could read the message inside that his father had written him. It was supposed to be a congratulatory note but it read more like an instruction manual for basketball domination. It was her first insight into Nathan's world.

'Sorry.' He puffed racing down the stairs.

She waved a hand dismissing it and took in his appearance. He was wearing a simple polo with the collar turned up, beige combat shorts and flip-flops. He looked good, but then again he always looked good.

They walked down the ramp to the sandy beach, Peyton slipping out of Brooke's shoes as they did so. Nathan took them from her so she didn't have to carry them in a gentlemanly act.

'It's nice down here, quiet and calm.' Peyton remarked, finally giving in and losing the cold shoulder.

'Yeah,' He nodded, 'I come down here at night sometimes if I can't sleep. It's a world away from my life and all the craziness.'

'It's good that you have that.' Peyton nodded in a deeper understanding than he could have imagined.

He saw the cues in her features and questioned her lightly, 'Don't you have an escape?'

Her face broke out in a smile, 'Music. It's like the people who write those songs understand me, there's a song for every mood and every emotion.'

Nathan looked sceptical but didn't argue; she seemed to know what she was talking about. For the rest of the short walk she spoke about her love of lyrics and melodies and he watched as she came alive. He didn't really take in what she was saying, he didn't mean to be rude but he was distracted by her body. From head to toe in his opinion, she was the perfect specimen. She was wearing more clothing than he'd have liked but she still looked stunning. Her skinny jeans accented her long legs and also hugged at her bottom in a way that was very pleasing to the eye. The top looked a little out of place on her shoulders and he had the feeling that she'd been talked into wearing it, it was a structured v-neck of white and he was sure it would look better off than on.

'Here's the place.' Nathan cut in, indicating towards a cute little store, 'They do all kinds of flavour here. I used to come here every Saturday with my parents, I've tried them all so I can recommend.'

She gazed dreamily at the lights that danced along the pier, 'It's okay, I always choose the same one.'

'What's the fun in that?' He wrinkled his nose.

'It reminds me of my childhood.' She smiled, 'I used to come here too when I was younger. My Mom and I would always share a waffle basket.'

'What flavour?' He asked, holding open the door for her.

She smiled softly, 'Mint chocolate chip.'

'Good choice.' He offered in approval, 'Choose a booth, I'll order.'

She followed his instruction and slipped into a seat overlooking the beach. She had to admit that he was a very charming guy, and to that point he had seemed extremely genuine. Add to that, every time she looked at his blue eyes and saw him staring back she felt like melting.

Peyton was still lost in her thoughts when he returned.

'I got you your favourite.' He smiled setting it down, 'I was gonna share with you but I thought it, I mean, well I saw they brought back Nut Explosion anyway.'

She may have been wrong but he seemed to be blushing slightly. He dropped into the seat opposite which was a surprise to her as she'd expected him to sit beside her and try the arm around the shoulder trick or lean in for a kiss. She also liked that he'd considered her feelings and chosen against sharing her ice-cream. She guessed that like her he had sacred childhood memories that he didn't want tarnished or changed, she internally thanked him for not crossing the blurry line.

He reached out and took her hand in his own, gently rubbing circles in a soothing motion without even knowing that it was exactly what she needed. She licked the back of her spoon teasingly, pleased to see that it made a smile flicker over his features.

'I'm sorry I couldn't remember your name.' He said suddenly as though it had been eating away at him.

'And I didn't think that Nathan Scott ever apologised?' Her voice sang.

He gave her hand a squeeze, 'I do when I'm in the wrong.'

'Well then I owe you an apology too.' She admitted slowly, 'I'm sorry that I judged you before I knew you, that wasn't fair.'

He shrugged, 'I don't mind, I know how I come across. It's good for my game though.'

'What seeing girl after girl?' She challenged.

He laughed, 'No that was just a teenage boy taking full advantage. Then I realised that I was being an idiot.'

'So you're reformed?' She was cynical.

'Something like that.' He offered a glorious smile, 'A pretty girl with sass, wit and intelligence can make a boy change his ways, you know.'

Her eyes hooded as she graciously accepted the compliment.

They finished their ice-cream and headed towards the pier. It was a cool night which meant that they were practically alone, suiting them just fine. The jetty was surprisingly long and offered them time to grow in confidence and relax in each other's company.

Nathan reached for Peyton's hand and laced it through his own, as she shifted closer to him as they walked. It was new ground for both of them, it was exciting in a subtle kind of way as though it was only the pair of them could see the fireworks exploding between them.

They reached the end of the pier and looked back at the town that seemed so far away and unattached from them. They were on their own ground in a bubble of their own world and it felt incredible.

It only seemed natural that in their haven, Nathan would reach out and kiss her.

He took her head in his hands and crashed his lips against hers. Everything leading up to the kiss had been soft and pleasant but as soon as they let down their barriers they revealed their true feelings.

They were lusting for one another and their desire was set free with that first kiss. Nathan's hands roamed, caressing the small of her back which made her groan and wrap her leg around his; tying her to him. Their hearts raced and they tasted the addictive flavours of each other, forgetting everything else for in that moment it was only them.

'Nate,' Peyton gasped when she caught her breath.

He winked, 'Sawyer.'


End file.
